After fighting off the wolves the rest of the night passed quietly, except for Raelyn’s nightmares keeping her awake most of the night. The next day we found the moon radishes, but we were not the first to get there. Lying on the ground in a stupor were four groaning kobolds who looked like they had stuffed themselves on the radishes which grew in abundance in the glade. When they saw us however, the kobolds jumped up and started tossing Radishes at us, gibbering away in their strange tongue that no one in the crew could understand. The message was clear however, they were not going to share the radishes with anyone and were determined to protect their turf.
But we were equally determined so we readied weapons and waded into the fray. Raelyn seemed a little distressed and I heard her muttering something like “So cute.” And “What a shame.” At one point she tried to frighten off one of the kobolds with a fancy sword routine but while the kobold was distracted I rode in and Stampy impaled the hapless creature on his tusks. Sorry Lass, but life is tough on the frontier and no matter how cute you think these creatures are, they wouldn’t have hesitated to finish us off if the roles had been reversed. After the kobolds were defeated we searched the area and found four large baskets of radishes, so decided it was high time to head back to Oleg’s with our booty. Raelyn also was keen to chat to Jhod about her nightmares and see if the cleric could shed any light on the situation. Twitchy was running low on his imported caviar as well so was keen to restock. Khvelar was keen to pick up a crossbow if the opportunity arose.
Svetlana was overjoyed with the radishes and rewarded us richly, so we had a look through Oleg’s stock and Khevlar got his crossbow. I picked out a nice set of chainmail that was just my size which meant I had a little more protection in battle. We also restocked the trail rations and picked up some more gossip from the Trading Post.
Most importantly Raelyn had a chat with Jhod and although the priest was confused saying such magic was quite powerful and would normally need more knowledge of the subject, in this case Raelyn, he suggested that perhaps the creature could be reasoned with to stop its nightly attacks on the swashbuckler’s dreams. So we decided (Raelyn told us) that we needed to go back to Nettles Crossing and have it out with the watery zombie.
On the way we stopped to explore the area as we had rushed through on our initial foray to find the bandits. We didn’t find much and I even had trouble scratching up enough tucker to feed us all so we had to dip into the trail rations. Then we got back to the crossing and Raelyn rushed up to the bank and started shouting for the zombie to come out and face her. She promised to slay the stag lord and throw his body in the river, if only the zombie would get out of her head and let he sleep. Khevlar and I tried to hold Raelyn back as in the middle of the river we saw the zombie rise up out of the water, nod its head to the fuming swashbuckler and slowly sink back beneath the waves. Not sure what exactly had happened we camped for the night by the river bank and in the morning Raelyn seemed happier as she had slept the entire night with no nightmares. The rest of us were relieved and so struck camp and headed out to explore.
Soon came across greying hulk of a giant old sycamore tree visible for miles around. Raelyn spotted the entrance to a den in the base of the tree and I check for trail signs and determined the den belonged to mites. Mites hate Gnomes and Dwarves and I can tell you the feeling is mutual. So I voted for going in and clearing out the little blighters, Twitchy and Khevlar backed me up and although she was reluctant to squeeze into the tight confines of the Mite’s den, Raelyn had little choice but to follow us in. I set Stampy to guard and entrance and down we went into the Mite’s hole.
The first room we came to looked like a workshop of sorts, filled with brick-a-brak, workbenches, old metal and wood. A pair of mites was engaged in an interesting game, using tiny catapults to fire caltrops into each other’s mouths. Upon seeing me in the tunnel however they turned their catapults on me and launches the caltrops in my direction. Luckily the tiny metal missiles bounced off my shiny new set of chainmail. Khevlar squeezed past me in the tight tunnel and fired his new crossbow at one of the mites, then I stepped in and dropped with my trusty hammer. The second mite fled the scene heading deeper underground so Khevlar gave chase, sliding down the tunnel after the little bugger. Twitchy and Raelyn followed as they could with the swashbuckler not happy having to squeeze into the tight tunnels. The next time the tunnel opened out we found a cavern with six mites standing around poking a captured Kobold with pointy sticks. The tribe must have captured a group of the little lizards as several fresh corpses littered the floor or we hung up against the wall tied to roots. The last Kobold didn’t look like he was going to last long, but luckily for him, the mites noticed Khevlar coming out of the tunnel and they positively hate Dwarves, and Gnomes for that matter so they leapt to attack us. Kwevlar swapped to his waraxes after dropping one mite with his crossbow and carved a path into the cave while they all missed as he ducked past. Twitchy spread his fingers and muttered an arcane phrase and fire leapt from his fingers burning the mites (and the Kobold, who collapsed against the wall.) Eventually when there were only a single mite left, it turned tail and fled across a wide cavern that split the tunnel and dropped away to darkness. We took one look and decided no way were we following that way.
Raelyn stabilised the dying Kobold and when the poor creature came around, he was so grateful he fell to his knees and grovelled at Raelyn’s feet. Luckily the Kobold – Mikmek, knew a little Common so using a combination of sign language and simple words we found out his story. Mikmek told us that the Kobold God (we figured an idol of some type) had been stolen by the Mites and so the tribe has sent out search parties to try and recover the lost idol. This fitted in with the rumours we had heard that something had riled up the Kobolds, so we told Mikmek we would help him by searching the Mite’s den for the idol and return it to him. I had him return to the surface and commanded Stampy to protect him. We then tried a different tunnel to see if we could get deeper into the Mite’s lair.
We found a wet, damp tunnel filled with mounds of eggs. Nasty stuff, smelled terrible. In the room were three centipedes and a mite. They didn’t last long, we did not want to spend much time in the damp chamber so carved our way through and found the mite’s common room. A broken bookcase filled with feathers, centipede legs, bones and other strange items dominated the room while arranged around the room were six mites, involved in all manner of strange activities. One mite played a broken musical instrument while two others threw stones at him. Another mite sat there reading a tattered book – upside-down. Then as they noticed us the mites gathered and attacked while other swarmed from deeper in the den, including the Mite Chieftain mounted on a giant bug. The bug proved to be the most difficult opponent, and managed to make a mockery of us, chewing both Raelyn and Twitchy into pulp and spitting them out. Khevlar was having a tough time fighting off mites and trying to heal his companions, while I was missing Stampy terribly. Eventually we defeated the mites and paused to heal up before we continued searching for the Kobold Idol.

We loaded up the bandit corpses into the old wooden wagon as we could see it want’s going anywhere without some major repairs, then we set the whole thing on fire, which some some strange reason seemed to make Twitchy very happy. I must keep an eye on my fellow gnome, I can see why they call him twitchy.
Had an interesting night, most of the time there was nothing much happening, but during my watch Raelyn came streaming out of the tent like she was running from something and spent a few hours sitting by the fire. Didn’t say much but it seemed like she hadn’t been able to sleep. Eventually exhaustion drove her back into the tent, but in the morning she still looked terrible.
Anyway we loaded up the horses and rode back to Oleg’s to report in. They were happy to hear the bandits had been dealt with but Svetlana was upset about her ring. We told her we’d keep looking for it. In celebration of our victory she told us she was going to make Oleg’s favourite stew, but to do that she needed us to fetch some moon radishes. She gave us directions to a patch of the special radishes about 16 miles south of the outpost. Raelyn decided to come clean with us and told us of her reoccurring nightmare each night since the encounter with the zombie at Nettles Crossing. The creature kept appearing in her dreams and delivering a message to drown the stag lord in the river. Same thing I could hear the zombie saying when we battled it. Well that explained why the poor lass looked so worn and tired.
Oleg had some new visitors so we did the rounds and introduced ourselves. The first was a Mercenery Captain – Kesten Garess who’d been sent by the Sword Lords to guard the Outpost. I guess better late than never. Even though we’d already dealt with the bulk of the bandits, there were still others out there so more swords standing with us couldn’t hurt. Kesten also gave us a Wanted notice for Falgrim Sneeg, a mercenary Kesten worked with months ago who robbed the group and fled into the Greenbelt to become a bandit. Kesten hopes to catch him alive and return him to Restov for punishment.
Next we met up with a travelling cleric of Erastil named Jhod Kacken. Jhod was chasing the legend of the lost temple of the elk and would like us to keep an eye out for any sign of the temple during our exploration of the Greenbelt.
There was a hunter as well called Vekkel Nenzen, so I struck up a conversation with him, remenising about past hunts ad creatures we had stalked. Vekkel told me of Tuskgutter, a famous wild boar than had taken his leg. He asked if during our travels, our group might catch wind of Tuskgutter, to kill the beast and bring him it’s hide.
After restocking our supplies we headed back out to explore more of the Greenbelt and see what other dangers might be lurking close to the Outpost. Even though we had a stock of trail rations, I preferred to live off the land and where I could I provided for the rest of the group as well. Sometimes I was successful, but at others we had to dip into the trail rations. Of course Twitchy had his own supply of luxury items so while we tucked into hard tack and beef jerky; he dined on exotic breads and cheeses. I couldn’t see the appeal myself and I am sure he regretted it next morning at the latrine pit, but each to his own I say.
The next day we came across a pair of frogmen and before anyone could say “What are you up to?” Twitchy had fired off a magical bolt of energy at one of the Boggarts. Raelyn looked ropeable and was staring daggers at Twitchy, but there was nothing for it, so we readied weapons and met the angry froggies as they came at us with morningstars. The fight was a short one and soon the Boggarts were down. Raelyn reprimanded Twitchy for his “Shoot first” attitude but I couldn’t see the message sinking in. I felt bad as Stampy was starting to get a reputation as a killer in the eyes of my crew, but I kept trying to tell them he was well trained for combat. Oh well, I don’t know what I can do to reassure them he isn’t dangerous, well only dangerous on command.
Later we came across a clearing covered in piles of bones from a variety of different creatures, some humanoid as well. I found some tracks but the footprints seemed very light and I had trouble determining the type of creature that had left them. We spread out to search and that was when all hell broke loose. A trapdoor spider burst up from under the leaf litter and attacked Khevlar. I had dismounted to search the clearing so I whistled for Stampy giving him the attack signal and we both moved in on the spider. I missed it with my longspear, staying back out of the spider’s reach as I had seen it bite Khevlar and he looked a little green from the poison. Stampy missed with his tusks, but brought down his front feet and stomped the spider into jelly. It didn’t help his reputation in the eyes of the party, but surely they saw he only attacked when I signalled.
That night we camped in the clearing and I cooked up a massive feast of spider legs which was mouth-watering. Last time I had spider that good was from my dear old mum, and this meal brought back some pleasant memories of my childhood. But once again the night passed poorly for Raelyn and each day she looked worse and worse for getting no sleep. We couldn’t think of any way to get rid of the nightmares so decided to talk to Jhod upon returning to Oleg’s to see if the cleric could think of any solution.
The exploration went well when we stumbled upon a gold mine not far from the Trading post. We didn’t have any mining equipment and couldn’t tell if the mine was tapped out or not, but we noted it down for future investigation. That night we went to bed happy but were soon woken from our slumber when a pack of wolves attacked. The battle went badly as an exhausted Raelyn as savaged by the wolves. Twitchy was also chewed up and spat out. Khelvar and myself (riding Stampy) worked out way through the pack and when we were down to the last wolf, it lost it’s appetite, turned tail and fled into the night. We let it go, and as Khevlar started working on the injured pair, Stampy and I took watch and kept guard.
The next morning we found the Radish patch but I will save that story for next time.

Our First Mission - A hunting we will go...

Diggle’s Diary
This new guy showed up at Oleg’s doorstep, seemed surprised to see Soren, but then they both claimed not to know each other. Something a bit dodgy going on but I let it pass. We can always use more willing volunteers to help tame The Greenbelt. Raelyn, the crew boss gathered some supplies from Oleg’s stores, tents, rope, rations, the usual. I figured I could live off the land and keep Stampy and myself covered, but I guess it is just good manners to try and share nature’s bountiful resources with my new friends. Since we had captured the horses from the defeated bandits, everyone was riding in style, so I jumped into Stampy’s saddle and we headed off in search of the bandit camp.

I might have talked up Stampy’s tracking ability a little. He certainly was enthusiastic, but I wasn’t real sure we were headed in the right direction. But since we had to explore the area anyway, I wasn’t too concerned. We headed South East based on what the bandit had told us, but after a few days, I could tell Stampy had lost the scent. We eventually came to a river, but it was not the Thorn, for starters it was flowing in the wrong direction, but at least we knew if we followed it, we would eventually meet up with the Thorn river and the bandits. We poked around for a bit and found the location of Nettles Crossing, although it looked broken down, I even rang the bell to see if anyone was about but nothing happened.

We set up camp for the night and everything seemed to be going well, but then I spotted a figure rise up from the river and start walking towards us. I could tell the guy was long dead and therefore some kind of zombie. As it came closer most of the crew were sickened by the creature’s stench/ The Zombie then fixed it’s terrifying gaze on Raelyn, and the poor lass was all shook up over it. Twitchy blasted it with magic missiles and I got Stampy in there with his tusks to gore the thing, and eventually Khevlar whacked it but good with his mace and finished it off. I was probably the only one to notice the thing had been muttering the while time.

Something like: “Throw the stag lord in the river that I may gaze upon death.”

Raelyn was in a bad way and collapsed in a heap but Khevlar soon had her back on her feet with some healing magic. We were wondering about the reference to this Stag Lord, but then remembered finding that amulet one of the bandit leaders in the shape of a stag and also hearing rumours about someone trying to organise the bandit groups so wondered if this Stag Lord was responsible.

Anyway, the rest of the night passed quietly so packed up camp and headed off again along the river heading now south and the west. We found some old, long dead kobold corpses that had been completely picked clean and eventually came across a fork in the river including a fork we could cross. We followed the fork to the north and worked out this was the Thorn river we were seeking. That night as we set up camp a hunter approached out of the gloom carrying a bow. He introduces himself as Avo and tells us he is hunting for animal pelts to trade with the trading post. We strike up a friendly chat as we share our camp and fill Avo in on our mission to clean up the Bandit problem. Avo seems pleased with this announcement and admits Bandits are a problem in the Greenbelt, but hints that they are not the only problem plaguing the area.

“The primary trade route from the River Kingdoms to Brevoy is the East Sellen River, a major waterway that runs through a swampy region to the west called the Hooktongue Slough. The trade route’s been closed for several months, though, due to an increased amount of violence from the boggard tribes that dwell there—hopefully the frog folk keep to the swamp and don’t turn their bulging eyes east toward the Narlmarches!”

The next day we part company with Avo and enter the thick forest nearby. Not far inm we stumble upon the bandit camp and then all hell broke loose. I don’t remember much of what happened next, but I have pieced together the sequence of events from what the others told me. The bandits were ready for us and had sentries up on platforms in the trees armed with longbows. After the pinged a few arrows off Khevlar, we moved into the tree cover to try and get the drop on them. I spotted a figure trying to sneak in under the trees and spurred Stampy forward to attack. It turned out to be the female bandit leader and she ganked my good with her twin axes so I passed out strapped to Stampy and spent the rest of the battle unconscious. Luckily I had trained Stampy well for combat so he kept at it and chased the bandit leader down and stomped her to jelly. I was a little worried when I woke later to see the looks of shock on the crew’s faces, but I assured them Stampy was safe. Let’s just say, they won’t be messing with either of us from here on in so maybe it was a good thing. Anyway, while I was out of it, the others took care of the bandits, Twitchy shooting spells till he was knocked out, Kvelar switching between trying to smash bandits, healing himself and also trying to keep everyone else alive, and Raelyn shishkabob’ing bandits on her pointy sword. At the end of all that we were a sorry looking bunch so we decided to take over the Bandit camp and heal up before heading back to Oleg’s

Spent some time in Restov on the border of Brevoy to pick up some gear and meet my new crew. Received the charter from the Swordlords, giving authority to deal with the bandits and such infesting the Greenbelt and to explore the region, mapping out the area. An interesting mix, this new crew of mine, led by Raelyn, a tall lassy, who looks handy with that sword on her hip. Khevlar, a dour, tight lipped dwarven cleric and Soren, a male witch of all things, I certainly do not want to get on the wrong side of one of his hexes. Luckily, I have my pet to keep me company. Since I rescued him from that silly travelling circus, Stampy has been my constant companion. Who knows, we may even pick up a few more friends in our travels.

So with my horse all packed, I leapt upon my mastodon’s saddle and rode off into the unknown companions in tow. First stop was a rundown fort, pretending to be a trading post, not far across the border. This unique “fixer-upper” was owned by Oleg and his wife Svetlana. The interesting pair welcomed us warmly and invited us to share a meal. Svetlana turned out to be a pretty good cook and served up a tasty stew for dinner. Oleg then shared his troubles, telling us about a group of a dozen bandits that had shown up three months earlier and demanded all the trading goods. Their leaders were a cloaked male and a hatchet wielding woman who did all the talking. She had even stolen Sveta’s wedding ring. Then on the first day of each month the cloaked leader and some thugs had arrived to receive their “taxes” of trading goods. Oleg then pointed out that they were due back tomorrow and asked if we would help with the problem? If we could dispatch of the bandits, he would gladly hang their corpses from the battlements to discourage the others. We felt this was a little too gruesome for our tastes, but were quite happy to plan out a little ambush for the bandits the next day.

I hid Stampy and myself in the stable, and was joined by Soren, while Raelyn and Kvelar hid in the guest rooms. We waited for the bandits to arrive and Oleg to give the signal, some strange code phrase about pineapples. I really didn’t understand the reference, but when the others charged out, I spurred Stampy forward and attacked. I don’t think the bandits had expected any trouble as there were just the four of them, the cloaked leader and three thugs. We surprised them, especially the poor fellow who ended up impaled on Stampy’s tusks. At the gruesome sight, the other thugs decided to hoof it, one fellow raced out the gate but I chased him down. The other guy tried to climb the wall and just ended up impaling himself and had to be rescued by Khevlar who spent most of the battle patching up the holes Raelyn put in the bandits while Soren tossed hexes around. Soon the battle was over and we tied up the survivors while Khevlar revived them for questioning.

We lined the sorry pair up at the front gate with nooses around the necks and tied off the leader to Stampy. He wasn’t talking though so Raelyn gave the signal and I led Stamps forward hoisting the leader into the air. He didn’t last long and he soon choked. With his leader dead, the last bandit soon started spilling his guts telling us the camp lay to the southeast down on the Thorn river near the edge of the forest. We decided it a little callous to kill him after he talked, so Soren cursed him and told him to give up banditry or he would die a horrible death. I think the guy even believed him. We banished him from the Greenbelt with a horse and a full water bottle, then stabled the remaining five horses the bandits had arrived on and collected the gear they no longer needed.

Then it was time to celebrate our first victory and tuck in to some more of Svetlana’s excellent stew.